Preference will be given to teachers in Grades K–3.

Develop your teaching tool kit to support the reading initiatives in North Carolina’s Read to Achieve legislation. Join us as we examine best practices for developing a welcoming and enriching reading and writing environment for the early childhood classroom. Open to teachers in grades K–3, this program will focus on developing strategies that link foundational skills to comprehension in the classroom. Set the stage for comprehension at the listening level for kindergarten students and transition instruction to thinking beyond the text as students move through the early grades.

Educational research and experienced teachers recognize that most school-aged students learn by doing. Teachers who build kinesthetic movement into their instruction report that their students are less disruptive and more engaged. Research supports that physical activity improves memory retention, comprehension, and self-regulation in students of all grade or achievement levels. Learn how you can transform a typical desk-and-chair classroom into an active classroom. Design and create your own movement-enhanced lessons with low-cost materials for use in the pre-K–12, differentiated, and exceptional classrooms.

Extreme weather events offer multiple opportunities to create engaging lessons across grade levels and the curriculum. Real-time media coverage of devastating storms like Katrina creates the ideal catalyst for motivating student interest in science, math, literacy, technology, and social studies lessons. Hear accounts from Outer Banks residents who have experienced hurricanes firsthand and see evidence of damage caused by recent storms. Partner with science, literacy, and digital learning experts to explore how extreme weather events are the perfect curriculum storm for creating lessons that will enhance K–12 instruction.

Computer science drives job growth and innovation throughout our economy and society. According to Code.org: computing occupations make up two-thirds of all projected new jobs in STEM fields, making Computer Science one of the most in-demand college degrees. Most students, however, do not have the opportunity to learn coding. You can help change this. Learn how to code, integrate coding into your curriculum, basics in robotics, and inspire students to learn more about computer science.

Many schools and districts have embraced the concept of Genius Hour by intentionally designing time during the school week for students to explore personal topics of interest and significance. From this Genius Hour work, many students’ passion and expertise grow in ways that are not likely to happen in traditional school structures. Just as our students need opportunities to explore and create, teachers need this time as well. Join us for Genius Hour for Teachers, a program designed for teachers to explore concepts, theories, tools, and strategies related to digital teaching and learning. Each participant will choose a focus or direction for this Genius Hour work. Explore structures and strategies, discuss potential strengths and limitations of various approaches to digital teaching and learning, engage in and reflect on what you’ve learned with your peers, and create plans and processes to implement digital teaching and learning in your classroom.

Elementary teachers may find that “fitting it all in” is impossible! Using informational text and technologies, elementary teachers will discover that not only is it possible to “fit it all in” it is fun! Examine the North Carolina Essential Standards and make connections to the North Carolina Standard Course of Study, ELA and Writing Standards. Investigate text sets and the role they play in integrating multiple contents. Create engaging cross-curricular instructional units with culminating projects for assessments.

North Carolina’s 2015–2016 Teachers of the Year are invited to join us on Ocracoke Island to examine educational leadership and positive responses to institutional change. Teachers of the Year have heard the call to leadership, but what is the next step? Discover how to continue your growth as an educational professional. True leadership emerges naturally from the integrity and identity of the leader. Explore your own integrity and selfhood in a community of other dedicated teachers who are embracing leadership in their own lives. Look into your leadership strengths and areas of growth by focusing on challenges inside and outside the educational realm. This program will not focus on management principles. Rather, taking our own lives as text, we will explore our inner character to become more conscious of the foundation from which we lead. Join our dialogue about how teachers can spread their enthusiasm for learning to other members of the school community.

Invitations will be mailed to system level Teachers of the Year in March 2016.

The NCCAT Solution and Planning Teams program offers educators an opportunity to meet in a residential setting devoid of distraction to create and advance departmental, school, or district-wide projects. These projects might consist of new programming, research, planning, or curricula. Gather a team together to create or refine your own innovative solutions. Early grades literacy or digital learning projects will be given preference, however, all project proposals will be considered. Single rooms, meeting space, Internet access, and meals for the participants will be provided by NCCAT. Travel and the cost of substitute teachers are not covered. Teachers, administrators, central office personnel, and district coordinators are encouraged to apply.

NCCAT schedules Solution and Planning Teams programs throughout the year. If your team is interested in a date that NCCAT has not already scheduled, contact Teacher Services to see if we can accommodate the date you prefer.

Today’s students use phones, tablets, computers, and video games as ways to obtain information. Information does not always link to understanding! What types of strategies can teachers use to include this type of information sourcing? Are literacy strategies the same for traditional text as they are for digital text? Discuss the digital divide and the complexities involved with nontraditional text. Investigate strategies for “digging deeper” into digital text. Explore a variety of digital tools you can use to make literacy instruction and learning more authentic and relevant.

Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, text messaging, Instagram, video conferencing, music downloading, video games, and online social networking communities—our students live in a digital world, with the ability to contact anyone, anywhere, anytime. How can we catch up with them? Enter this world and acquire skills needed to navigate the ebb and flow of the digital age. Learn to facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools. Empower all students by developing technology-enriched learning experiences. Gain confidence and skill in accessing information as you integrate technology seamlessly into your curriculum. Promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility. Capitalize on your students’ excitement and guide them on a safe, legal, and ethical journey into the digital universe.